Darkness Within
by onelastpage
Summary: A fan fiction focusing on Ryou Bakura and a must read for you Bakura fans out there!
1. Happy Birthday

_"Happy birthday to you… happy birthday to you…"_

Today was Amane's birthday. Today was supposed to be a happy day. But how could a celebration of person be happy if they were already dead?

**Chapter I**- Happy Birthday

He lay in bed, thinking. Today was his sister's birthday. Of course he should have been happy, but how could a person be happy for the birth of a loved one if they were dead? The guy lying in his bed was Ryou Bakura, his dead sister, Amane. A young man of sixteen years old, he was just into his second year. His long semi-tidy, white hair brushed his eyes, a deep stunning blue, but now his large eyes were filled with tears.

Turning his head, those beautiful eyes fell upon a picture sitting on top of his desk. It was a photograph of him and his sister, along with their parents. A banner was hung above their heads, _Happy Birthday Amane_. They were all smiling. So happy. This picture was taken a year ago.

"Happy birthday Amane…" he said, his voice hollow. He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry that I couldn't say goodbye…" _After that letter notifying the death of my sister, I haven't seen my family… or heard from them… It- it hurts. I don't care if it has only been a year; it still hurts just the same._ A single tear slid down his pale cheek. His hand found its way on top of his millennium item, the millennium ring. It took him a while to realize that he was gripping the trinket tightly, so tightly that the pointers were being driven into his hand. The same hand that had been impaled when his other self played the RPG Monster World with his new friends. Blood started to seep out of the wound. Finally, he realized what he was doing, and released the ring. Slowly, he brought his hand up to his face to study the freshly made wound. He began to examine it; how the light would reflect off the metal, and the blood shining a bright crimson red.

_How such a small item can ruin one's life… _His fingers ran over the cold metal of the ring. "Yes," he murmured to himself, "How this object ruined my life, making me so alone…"

_You were always alone…_ His other self's words ran through his head. _You never had friends. Don't you remember? When you were a little boy you'd play by yourself, in the sandbox. You're lucky I'm here.  
_  
"Those are all lies!" he cried out. He gripped his ring once again.

_If those are all lies, tell me the name of one of your friends that you had before. The one's that you had before you found me,_ his other self challenged. Bakura eyes widened, and he let out a short gasp. _You can't, can you?  
_  
"I can't…" his voiced trailed off. "Why can't I remember?" A point of the millennium ring sank deeper into the palm of his hand.  
_It's not your memory at fault; it's just that you never had friends. At least not until you heard my voice. I helped you make friends. Remember that.  
_  
"No. You lie. You never helped me make friends. You… you took them away. At my old home, you locked my friends' souls into dolls. I remember!" He released the ring.

_So, you still do remember… What a pity. But, remember this, your fallen dreams shall be realized by you soon... I will show you your fallen dreams. Soon…  
_  
"Gone…" He let out a soft sigh of relief. He flung the ring aside. "He's gone… But not for long…" A drop of sweat ran down his forehead. He let himself fall onto his bed. Then he heard a quick rap against the door of his apartment room. He let himself lay on his bed for a while before he got up to answer the door. He walked slowly; the blood trickled down his hand and splattered onto the floor with a plap plap. He didn't seem to notice. He opened the door revealing one of his friends, Anzu Mazaki.

END OF CHAPTER I


	2. Can't Fool Me

"_You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."__- _Abraham Lincoln

"Gone…" He let out a soft sigh of relief. He flung the ring aside. "He's gone… But not for long…" A drop of sweat ran down his forehead. He let himself fall onto his bed. Then he heard a quick rap against the door of his apartment room. He let himself lay on his bed for a while before he got up to answer the door. He walked slowly; the blood trickled down his hand and splattered onto the floor with a _plap plap_. He didn't seem to notice. He opened the door revealing one of his friends, Anzu Mazaki.

**Chapter II**- Can't Fool Me

_Room 601,_ she rapped quickly against the door. She stood silently, clutching her tan bag in both hands, waiting for Bakura to open the door. The door creaked open. _I wonder why he took so long,_ she thought._ Oh well, he's here._

"Hi, Bakura," she said, a big smile plastered on her face. "Do you want to join me and the others at the arcade?"

Bakura hesitated a while before he answered, "Um… I don't know…"

_He hesitated,_ she told herself. _Maybe there's something troubling him._ _Hmmm… _"Is something… Is something wrong, Bakura?" she asked tentatively. She gazed into his eyes. His eyes revealed that something was wrong, but his facial expressions did not. _He's hiding his emotions,_ she told herself. Then her eyes fell upon his hand. The blood. "You're- You're _bleeding_!" She took her eyes off his hand and looked into his eyes; her own eyes filled with shock and disbelief. " Bakura!"

Surprised, Bakura looked at his hand, rose, red blood dripping from his hand. He continued to stare at his hand.

"Bakura…"

He looked up. "Oh! Oh yeah, I accidentally cut myself just now. I'm sorry if I gave you a little scare." He laughed politely.

She looked at him; studied him to make sure this was true._ He looked surprised when I told him that his hand was cut. But why?_ She then asked with concern in her voice, "Does it hurt?"

"Not at all, it's fine. The cut's actually really shallow. It's nothing to worry about. Really."

_Nothing to worry about… But his hand is bleeding! _She looked at his hand; the blood streaming from his palm to the floor. "Well, that _is_ a lot of blood because it's dripping onto the floor." She pointed to the puddles of blood forming on the area of floor under Bakura's hand.

"I didn't notice that." Embarrassed, he put his hand on the back of his head, and laughed. "Ha, ha, funny huh?" He smiled.

_Such a cute smile. But… I've seen this before. In Battle City, he was hurt, and we told him that he shouldn't be dueling in the condition he was in. he laughed and said that his arm was fine. He said that he felt no pain, just like he just did. But it's different now; Malik isn't controlling him, and screening the pain. But how can he not feel any pain? Maybe the spirit of the ring has a part in this. He is stronger physically, so…_

Bakura interrupted her thoughts. His hand was on Anzu's shoulder, "Anzu?"

"Oh! Bakura, I, uh, was…"

"I had to say your name at least twenty times until you snapped out of it," he laughed playfully.

"Really?"

"No, of course not, anyway, do you want to come in?" he asked, inviting Anzu in. "I have to wash the blood off my hand, so you can wait inside."

"So, you're telling me that you're going to join me and the others at the arcade, right?"

"I suppose so."

Anzu's brown eyes brightened, _Perhaps there is nothing troubling Bakura. _

END OF CHAPTER II


	3. A Beautiful Smile

"_No smile is as beautiful as the one that struggles through tears."- _Unknown

Anzu's brown eyes brightened, _Perhaps there's nothing troubling Bakura._

**Chapter III**- A Beautiful Smile

Stepping aside, Bakura opened the door in order for Anzu to step inside. She entered the apartment room, noticing immediately that the room was very poorly lit.

"Wow, it's so dark in here… How can you see in here?" she asked, squinting into the darkness of the hallway. _It hadn't been this dark the last time I was here, _she thought.

"Oh, sorry," he said, flicking the light switch on with his good hand. He blinked rapidly, adjusting his eyes to the brightness of the light, and shadowed his eyes with his hand. He continued to lead her out of the hall, which opened up into his bedroom. "Kitchen's over there," he pointed, "Help yourself to anything if you're hungry. And I'll be in the bathroom," he help up his hand, "taking care of this mess." He smiled.

"Ok. Um, I'm not hungry, so I'll just sit here." She flopped onto his bed and smiled.

Without a word, he nodded and disappeared into the bathroom. She watched him leave and after his departure, she quickly scanned the room. _Hmmm… Everything's real neat- the bed's the only thing that's kinda out of place. It's not made… Oh geez, Anzu! You woke the poor guy up! _She slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. _Oh wait… _She froze._ No I couldn't have since he had to be awake to cut himself… Anyway, what guy sleeps till noon? Ok… well, Jonouchi's an exception to the rule._

Slowly, she stood up. A glint of gold had caught her eye. "No… No, it couldn't be…" she muttered, moving closer to the desk. _Surprised, Anzu? No not surprised, of course not. You knew that it would come back to him when it wasn't found on the blimp. It always finds it's way back. _The ring lay on Bakura's desk next to a photograph. Tenderly, she picked the ring up with her thumb and index finger. Droplets of blood sat on the middle pointer of the ring. Alarmed, she let go of the ring, which went _clink_ against the desk.

She staggered backwards, one hand covering her mouth and the other clenched against her chest. "No, no, no…" _Bakura lied to me. He didn't cut himself with a knife, but with this ring. But why? Wait. There's no way he could have cut himself by accident. The pointers of the ring would slip if you grasp it, so you can only force it by using another hand to support the point… He cut himself on purpose… But-_

She bumped into someone and shrieked.

"Anzu…?"

She turned around. "Oh, Bakura… Sorry, you startled me. So, is your hand all patched up?"

"Actually, I was just going out to find some bandages." She looked at his hand, the blood was gone revealing the torn, pinkish flesh.

She shuddered. _Bakura did this to himself. _"Well, ok. Um, do you need any help?" she forced a smile.

"No, I'm OK," he smiled, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Anzu was nervous and jumpy.

_He has such a beautiful smile… _Anzu watched him disappear into a closet and then into the bathroom. When she was sure he wasn't going to come out anytime soon, she headed towards the desk to investigate further.

This time she studied the photograph. It had fallen of the wall, where it had sat above two other photos, one of Bakura's parents and one of someone, who looked like she must have been Bakura's sister. _Oh, so this is his family… They look so happy… This must have been taken before he go separated from his family… He keeps so much sadness bottled up inside. The glass's cracked, so he must have thrown the ring at it. _She sighed, and held up the picture by the edge of the frame. Pieces of glass tumbled out of the frame and onto the desk with a _tinkle_. Her brown eyes continued to study the photograph. _It's sad that something like this would happen to such a beautiful person…_

END OF CHAPTER III


	4. Shards of Glass

"_I've been looking in the mirror for so long/ That I've come to believe my soul's on the other side/ All the little pieces falling, shatter/ Shards of me/ Too sharp to put back together/ Too small to matter/ But big enough to cut me into so many little pieces."- _Evanescence, from 'Breathe No More'

This time she studied the photograph. It had fallen of the wall, where it had sat above two other photos, one of Bakura's parents and one of someone, who looked like she must have been Bakura's sister. _Oh, so this is his family… They look so happy… This must have been taken before he go separated from his family… He keeps so much sadness bottled up inside. The glass's cracked, so he must have thrown the ring at it. _She sighed, and held up the picture by the edge of the frame. Pieces of glass tumbled out of the frame and onto the desk with a _tinkle_. Her brown eyes continued to study the photograph. _It's sad that something like this would happen to such a beautiful person…_

**Chapter IV- **Shards of Glass

Bandaging his hand quickly, the white fabric wrapped tight against his skin. He looped the last piece of the cloth under another strip and pulled the cloth taut. Then he looked from his hand to the bathroom mirror. He closed his eyes, remembering, "Cover it up and everything's all better now…". His mother's words faded into a mere whisper in his mind.

He opened his eyes, exploring every part of his reflection. He forced a smile. "Hmm… That should be convincing enough…" he whispered to his reflection. He turned from the mirror and left the bathroom.

_Hmm? What is Anzu doing at my desk?_ Curious, he spoke her name, "Anzu…?" and tapped her shoulder.

"Ah!" She let out a startled shriek and dropped something, which hit the desk and shattered upon the floor with the _tinkle_ of glass breaking.

"Anzu!"

Turning her head to him, she let out a sigh of relief. "You startled me Bakura."

"Oh, I'm sorry…"

"Oh no, it isn't your fault! I- well… I guess, I get scared easily… That's it." She brushed her brown hair out of her face.

"Something… fell," he stated, looking at the area of where it should have fallen. "That-" His eyes spotted the shattered object.

"Yeah, um, I'm sorry," she interrupted, "I was just looking at your family photos… and I kinda dropped it… I'm sorry." She began collecting up the fragments of glass into her hand, cutting herself in the process. "Oh, this is such a mess… I'm sorry."

Lightly, he touched her hand, "You've cut yourself."

"Cut myself?"

Without speaking, he pointed to the incisions on her legs and hands.

"Oh! Yes, I have, haven't I?"

He leaned forward and brushed a few shards of glass into his hand, "I can take care of this myself. You should get yourself cleaned up. And please don't argue. I assure you that I can take care of this."

She nodded, her eyes never taking off their gaze into his eyes. Then she blinked, gave him a quick smile, and left the room.

He cleaned the mess up quickly, sweeping the dust and shards into his hand, with his eyes fixed upon his sister in the photo. He gently brushed away the glass on the picture. Tenderly, his index finger stoke his sister's face, cold and smooth and forever trapped in the photograph.

He shook his head. "She used to be so warm and full of life, but now... Now, she's cold and lifeless just like this snapshot. Forever stationary, never moving..." He rose, taking his eyes of the picture. _But there is no time to think of you. Anzu will be back soon... with questions... Many questions. Because she cares... Too much._

He made his way to his trashcan can emptying his hand of the glass. "The millennium ring..." he remembered. It's on the desk... I almost forgot." With quick strides, he went to his desk, the millennium ring sitting on top. He shook his head in annoyance. "This complicates things..."

Hearing light footsteps approaching him, he turned to the entrance of the room. "Anzu, all bandaged up?" he asked when he saw her.

"Yeah... Again, Bakura, I'm sorry," she apologized, nervously fiddling with her hands.

"It was nothing. Really. Anyway, I think that we're about ready to leave. Am I correct?" He smiled.

"Oh you're going?" she asked, slightly surprised.

"Well, I did just say that we should leave now."

"That's good! I'm glad that you're coming!" She smiled, all worries and questions about Bakura disappearing momentarily.

END OF CHAPTER IV


	5. A Fatal Suggestion

_"Even though you may want to move forward in your life, you may have one foot on the brakes. In order to be free, we must learn how to let go. Release the fear. Refuse to entertain your old pain. The energy it takes to hang onto the past is holding you back from a new life. What is it you would let go of today?"- _Mary Manin Morrissey

"That's good! I'm glad that you're coming!" She smiled, all worries and questions about Bakura disappearing momentarily.

**Chapter V**- A Fatal Suggestion

Patiently, she gazed at her elder brother concentrating on slaying a virtual enemy imprisoned in the arcade machine. The arcade, riddled with noisy sounds of video games, voices of gamers, and jarring music emitted from speakers above, throbbed in her ears.

"Oh, crap!"

"You suck, man! I'll show _you_ what a real expert's like!"

"Aw, shut up, Honda. Like you can do any better."

"What! Hey, you remember that time when…"

Honda's and Jonouchi's voices melted away with the other sounds of the arcade. She sighed, wondering how Anzu could ever leave her with these two together. _Anzu was right_, she thought, _the two of them could be a real bother_. She glanced at her brother, who appeared to have stopped arguing.

"Jonouchi? Anzu's supposed to meet up with us, right?" she asked, her gray eyes shone with concern for her friend's whereabouts.

He turned from Honda, who was now submersed in the game Jonouchi had been playing. "Eh? Oh, that's right she went to get Bakura. Should be here by now," he scratched his head, wondering, "Good question, Shizuka… Ah, well, I'm sure that they'll be here any moment now." He shrugged and resumed watching Honda.

She nodded slightly, acknowledging that her brother was probably right. "Well, I'll be going." She slipped away before knowing if they had heard.

Dodging the waves of crowds, she made her way towards the exit. She stepped out and the wind greeted her with a blast of cool air- a pleasant change compared to the almost suffocating air of the crowded arcade. She greedily breathed in the air and refreshed her body with the oxygen.

"Ah… That feels so good…" she said, her hair whipping in the breeze.

"Shizuka!" A familiar girl's voice entered her ear. _Anzu?_ She turned to the origin of the call and searched through multiple faces. "Oh! There she is! Bakura's with her too." She waved to Anzu and hurriedly walked to her.

"Sorry that we were late," Anzu apologized. "So, where's Yugi and the others?"

"Oh, they're in the arcade. Yugi went to the bathroom, but he should be with Jonouchi and Honda right now."

"Well, what are we waiting for? We've just got to get busy about planning what to do, since you're going back to your mother's! I can't believe that you're leaving!" cried Anzu.

"Shizuka's leaving?" inquired Bakura.

"Oh no!" Anzu slapped her forehead. "I forgot to tell you! Shizuka is going to leave Domino tomorrow."

"So soon…? It must be hard for Jonouchi," he paused, "… to have to say goodbye. And for you too, Shizuka."

She nodded. "But, I'm thankful to have spent time with him at all… To see him… There are so many things that I am thankful of." _Jonouchi… When will I ever see him again?_

"Then you can be thankful of all the fun things we're gonna do, if we can just get going! Come on!" Anzu grasped an arm in each of her hands and pulled them towards the arcade.

_Anzu… Thank you for this…_

Heat engulfed the three as they entered the arcade. Jonouchi, Yugi, and Honda stood around the same arcade game as before, so Shizuka found them quickly.

"Look who finally showed up, guys," Honda muttered sarcastically.

"We got sidetracked," Anzu protested, "But, more importantly, we have to figure out what to do for Shizuka." She paused. "So… what should we do?"

A long silence followed Anzu's words. _Something, something to do…? But what? Somethi-_

"Uh, sis, why don't you decide?" Jonouchi asked.

"Um… I don't know," she said, blushing, "I just want it to be something memorable…" _Something that I'll remember forever,_ she thought.

"Like going to a tropical island? We couldn't afford that!" Anzu laughed.

"Too bad," Honda sighed.

Jonouchi punched him in the arm. "I know what you're thinking and the answer is NO!"

"How would you know what I'm thinking!"

"I know you well enough, pervert!"

"Pervert! Who you calling pervert! You're the one who wanted to look at Anzu in the shower!"

Anzu pushed the two away from each other. "That's enough, you two. Let's get back to Shizuka." Anzu paused, thinking. "Wait… I've got an idea… We _could _go on a trip. We should all go see Bakura's family!"

_He doesn't live with his family?_ she thought, looking at Bakura. _But, what does Bakura think of the idea?_ "Oh!" She looked at Bakura's glazed expression. _What did happen to him?_

"That is if you're OK with the idea," Yugi said, aware of Bakura's uneasiness. "But, the spirit of the ring is gone now, so there is no reason for you not to see your family."

"Bakura?" Shizuka gently touched his arm. _Why wouldn't he want to see his family? What happened?_

END OF CHAPTER V

Author here! Yeah, well about the whole make the chapters longer thing… Well, this chapter was unusually long (I printed it and it was over a page long in 10 font) and so was the fourth one (kinda). Anyway, the reason I can't make the chapters too long is because I have school, which comes with homework, and I can only go on the computer on weekends. But, then I do have a computer in my room that's only meant for writing, so that helps. (Just got it too!) Summer's near, so I'll probably write longer chapters or install more chapters in a week.

> ! I blabbed too much! Quick note first, next chapter there's gonna be a cliff hanger! Yay! This is when things get exciting! Bye!


	6. The Accident

**"**_Everything you say to me/ Takes me one step closer to the edge/ And I'm about to break/ I need a little room to breathe/ 'cause I'm one step closer to the edge/ And I'm about to break."- _Linkin Park, from 'One Step Closer'

**"**Bakura?" Shizuka gently touched his arm._ Why wouldn't he want to see his family? What happened?_

**Chapter VI**- The Accident

"We should all go see Bakura's family!"

His arm jerked involuntarily at the suggestion. _Go see Bakura's family…? _The voice in his mind repeated and then went blank.

"…if you're OK with…" Muffled words swam in and out of his conscious. "…there is no reason… family…"

_Family, family… _My_ family_, he thought. He blinked. _NO! _Anger gripped him and his mind rang with furious voices.

_It was none of their business!_

_Not their problem!_

_Always with the prying!_

_I need no help!_

_And the questions!_

_I can deal with it alone!_

_So annoying!_

"No, no, no…" he shook his head. _Get away. _"The time… I- I have to…" he stuttered, attempting to cloak his increasing rage. "It's my his sister's birthday." He turned sharply and walked quickly into a nearby crowd. Sure that he was free from the view of his friends, he started jogging, then faster and faster until everything around him blurred.

_Finally…_

_You should see your family._

"No," he murmured, "They don't even care…"

_How would you know? You haven't asked them._

"No need to. Haven't heard from them for so long…" Tears welled up from his sapphire blue eyes.

_Then you start- you talk to them first. Amane would want that. Amane would want you and your family together._

"Amane…" He closed his eyes, visualizing her cheerful smile.

_Do it for Amane. Go back._ His sprint slowed to a halt.

He lowered his eyes and bit his lip. "I have to-" The sound of screeching rubber against hot pavement cut him off and a sickening _thud_ followed. He had run into the street without realizing it.

END OF CHAPTER VI

So, what do you think? Good cliff hanger, no? Don't worry, though, I didn't kill him. (I mean, who kills the main character?) I totally apologize for the shortness of this chapter! I couldn't add anymore even if I wanted to! Sorry and thanks for reading! Especially, a big thanks to my dedicated readers! tears!


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